


on my way to you (something to declare)

by harajukucrepes



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 20:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4193997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harajukucrepes/pseuds/harajukucrepes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Living abroad has a way of making you feel at home in everything familiar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	on my way to you (something to declare)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TickTock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TickTock/gifts).



*

 

on my way to you (something to declare)

 

*

 

Kenma has never been the sentimental kind, but even he knew that this was something he needed to put a meaningful date to.

He can almost hear Kuro's reply—“So _now_ you listen to me,” complete with an all-knowing sheepish grin—perhaps even the rest of the folks over at Karasuno, but it's not like it matters. Not a lot of people say those sort of things to his face anyway, except Kuro.

And Shouyo, the only one other than Kuro who has been an exception to all Kenma's rules.

 

*

 

Slightly less than an hour before boarding and Kuro asks him, “He's not coming?”

Kenma's eyes are fixed on the game of he's playing with Shouyo—“I'm not giving up until I reach at least half of your highest score!!” he declared about a week ago, and a few weeks before, and a few weeks before that, and some other time Kenma has lost track of—so he gives a barely noticeable nod.

“He has a game tomorrow.”

Kuro's not convinced. “Really.”

More than anything, Kenma knows that Kuro will be the one he misses the most when he goes to England. Kuro, who has been around ever since Kenma could recognise words. Kuro, who drags him to the volleyball club and everywhere else. Kuro, who has been more or less his life interpretor. Kuro, who has been so important to him that he can't imagine a day without having to listen to him.

He can deal with missing Shouyo, longing to hear his voice and stuff, but Kuro is another story.

“Really,” he answers, because Kuro is Kuro and Kuro needs no explanation from Kenma.

Minutes later, right before Kenma walks away towards the boarding gate, Kuro gives him an affectionate pat on the head.

“Learn to live without me, alright?”

He doesn't say anything back, but the plane takes off and droplets of water from Kenma's eyes starts reacting to the gravity of things.

 

*

 

Kenma can deal with missing Shouyo, but apparently the reverse isn't true.

He starts leaving random voice messages in the middle of the night (Kenma was told that Tsukishima tried his darndest to explain the concept of timezones to Shouyo, with—predictably—disastrous outcome), the first few being blank messages containing only whispers—by Shouyo's standard—of questions like “are we connected????”, then a few more messages with deafening volume (perhaps Shouyo was thinking that yelling at the phone would make the message clearer) and only the recents are borderline normal.

_Kenma, is it cold there?_

_Kenma, I found another short first year like me! But too bad he wants to be a setter, so that stupid Kageyama stole him from me. Can you imagine if I were to train him?_

_I think I'm gonna stop playing that phone game thing, can't seem to beat you. Come back and teach me in person._

_Kenma, it's your birthday, right? Are you eating well?_

_Kenma, Kuroo said that he's saving up some money to go see you. Do you think I should?_

_Kenma, when are you coming back?_

 

_*_

 

He leaves Shouyo text messages though. Almost every day.

_People speak English so differently. Maybe Japan should dub the foreign movies less._

_I hardly have time to play games now, so much work to do. So frustrating,_

_It rains here all the time, it's kind of troublesome._

_I went to watch a soccer (they call it football here, can't get used to it) match today. Arsenal and Manchester City. People are so rowdy, can't get used to it._

_The Japanese food here kinda sucks. Exams give you strange cravings._

_I went to play volleyball with a bunch of kids here. Still don't really know what they were saying._

Sometimes in classes he thinks about alternative communication methods that don't require an extensive setup—being homesick makes him want to talk to Shouyo and Kuro even more.

 

*

 

Kuro comes over during Christmas break, taking with him all the Japanese snacks Shouyo had apparently tasked him to take along.

“You know, Kenma, I can see why he's just the perfect one for you.”

 

*

 

Of all the Karasuno members he had expected to have any chance to see in England, Tsukishima is his biggest bet. Which is why he's now sitting opposite him in this Asian fusion restaurant in Chinatown, talking—more like a quiet question and answers session rather than an actual conversation, really, because they only agreed to meet up because Kuro insisted on it—about his one year abroad studies programme.

Truth be told, Kenma didn't really start taking notice of or even recognise him until the training camp, and even then it was because Kuro wouldn't stop talking about him, and they had hardly exchanged a word before leaving Japan, but living abroad has a way of making you feel at home in everything familiar.

It also helps that Tsukishima is now miles away from being that guy from their first match together—from indifferent, aloof and slightly irritable to less judgmental, introverted, and tolerant (of most things). Shouyo's influence, perhaps. Or Kuro's. He's not sure what really goes on between Kuro and him, actually, other than forever feeling like he's not really his business. Perhaps that captain guy from Fukurodani would know more.

So they meet up once every few weeks or so, with Tsukishima succesfully coaching one of his friends in Karasuno—that first year with freckles, Yamaguchi?—in the complex—in Shouyo's eyes, probably—art of long distance communication—to be exact, Skype—so they could do a conference call with the guys back in Japan.

 

*

 

Surprisingly, but not unexpected, Shouyo doesn't have a lot of things to say to him.

At least in person—or as much “in person” communication can they get with Skype.

_I'm sorry, Kenma, I got bit nervous. There are too many people around. Kageyama kept hitting my head afterwards. He said I should have cried at least._

Kenma has never been the sentimental kind, but after hearing that, he feels like he could burst into tears.

 

*

 

They try a few more times, but they all end up being Kuro's weekly snark session with Tsukishima.

Apparently Shouyo never eats properly before their scheduled Skype calls.

 

*

 

Kageyama rarely sends him anything, let alone a text message, so when he does, of course the one and only reason to do so is to insult the hell out of Shouyo. According to Tsukishima.

_Don't worry, he's a moron._

That kind of sounds a bit like Kageyama's worried, but it's not like Tsukishima has a habit to be truthful in his analysis anyway.

 

*

 

The month before he graduates, Kuro gives him a surprise visit, bringing along a video of Shouyo's latest volleyball match.

Kageyama still plays as his setter, so naturally, they fight in between break times and matches. Shouyo hasn't grown much, but he can jump so much higher than Kenma remembers, so he's more impressive than ever, and by the time they finish watching the match, Kuro tells him that Shouyo and Kageyama have both been named the regular players of the national team, beating up some of the monster candidates from Tokyo. Apparently Karasuno has taken a half day off school to celebrate.

Kenma finds himself rather ecstatic at the fact that Shouyo is going to have to move to Tokyo.

 

*

 

“You're coming back soon?” Shouyo asks in the last scheduled Skype call the day before Tsukishima returns to Japan. Kenma is to fly a few days after.

“Very soon.”

 

*

 

This time around, Shouyo shows up in the airport and Kuro says, “you know, it's time he knows it.”

He thinks of Kuro and how he had thought that he couldn't live 3 years in England without him, but 3 years breezed by and he's still alive, Kuro or no Kuro. He thinks of Kuro and the way he still helps him with his luggages (he had actually called him the day before Kenma's flight back, asking him if everything has been packed—“Did you remember to separate the fragile ones? Did you remember to pad your boxes with newspapers so that the things won't break?” and all the things Kuro thought Kenma wouldn't remember—and if he had his passport with him, is his phone charged, and everything else. Kuro who probably has been worried sick for 3 years, scratching his head to scrimp on resources so that he could visit him in England as much as possible. Kuro who has never stopped taking care of him, Kuro who has never left his side.

Kuro who now knows that it's time for Kenma to graduate from him and move on.

“Shouyo,” Kenma says, voice coming out softer than he intended.

He flashes a bright smile, still feeling as fresh as sunshine, and Kenma is suddenly brought back to the day they met, Kenma sitting by the roadside, clueless about the country roads and Shouyo appearing out of nowhere to accompany him until Kuro found him.

“I'm home.”

Kenma would probably never become the sentimental kind of person, even if Shouyo insists that he's far more sensitive than he lets on, but this is the day he'll remember for the rest of his life.

“Welcome back, Kenma.”

 

*

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like this!


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